THE Killarney ambulance crisis has been raised in the Dáil and Health Minister, James Reilly, has been warned that lives will be lost unless the problem is tackled as a matter of priority.
Just days after revelations that a woman in Headford had to wait 45 minutes for an emergency call-out ambulance to arrive, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae said the government fails to understand the complexity of the situation.
“Our geography is putting us in a very unfair situation when it comes to providing proper ambulance cover,” he complained.
Deputy Healy-Rae said the problem has escalated significantly since the second ambulance was removed from Killarney and the ambulance service was withdrawn from Millstreet in north Cork.
“The Killarney ambulance has to go to Cork to cover the Millstreet and Ballydaly area which leaves the town without an ambulance.
“When the ambulance goes to Cork with a patient, the Kenmare ambulance has to go to Killarney to cover and the Cahirciveen ambulance has to cover Kenmare, leaving Cahirciveen with nothing,” he said.
Deputy Healy-Rae was speaking following revelations that a seriously ill woman had to endure a 45-minute wait for an ambulance in east Kerry last weekend.
The woman, who was in the Headford area but had to wait for the ambulance to travel from Cork, died later that night in Kerry General Hospital.
Killarney’s second ambulance was withdrawn last year to be replaced with a fast-response vehicle but there have been repeated complaints that the service is not sufficient to cope with demand
